WRAPP ROADEO 2014 GUIDE
I. Introduction
Welcome to the Seventeenth Annual Wisconsin Rural and Paratransit Providers Roadeo.
The annual Wisconsin Rural and Paratransit Roadeo is an opportunity for drivers to gain recognition for their driving skills. While there are awards for the top finishers, winning is not the primary reason for this competition. The Wisconsin Rural and Paratransit Roadeo is an opportunity to test your limits, meet others in the profession and, above all, have a good time.
The following information is being supplied to all contestants and judges so that everyone will be familiar with the Roadeo events, the course layout, rules of conduct and scoring.
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Please note minor changes may be during the course set-up, but will be conveyed to you at the meeting on Saturday.
Important Information on Scoring !!!
Please note that the total number of points that a Roadeo driver can earn is 1000.
Here is a breakdown of the scoring of the Roadeo:
Written Test Driving Wheelchair Securement Pre-Trip
125 points 525 points 200 points 150 points
(12.5 %) (52.5%) (20.0%) (15.0%)
General Information
1. Watch out for vehicles at all times! Avoid endangering yourself and others.
2. Note to Spectators: Spectators must stay in areas designated for them. Picture-taking is not allowed in the pre-trip inspection and wheelchair securement areas.
3. Uniforms will be optional, but professional dress is required.
Wisconsin Rural and Paratransit Providers Roadeo
Rules of Conduct
In order to clarify some common sense rules regarding the competition, the committee has adopted the following rules of conduct:
1. Following the initial walk through of the course, drivers will not be allowed on the driving course for any reason (except for their actual competition).
2. Contestants must wear their name badges at all times.
3. Each driver will be assigned to a squad. Drivers must follow the instructions of their squad captain.
4. Drivers must remain outside of the pre-trip inspection and wheelchair securement areas until they are called to participate in these events.
5. Drivers are not to engage in unnecessary talking with judges.
6. No alcoholic beverages will be permitted at the Roadeo site.
7. Unsportsmanlike conduct of any kind will not be tolerated. This includes profanity, aggressive behavior toward another contestant or official, abuse of equipment and unsafe driving maneuvers.
8. Once completed with the competition, drivers are not to discuss the competition with drivers who are still waiting to compete.
9. Violations of the rules of conduct are to be reported to the Course Marshal as soon as possible.
10. The Course Marshal shall have the sole authority to determine if a violation has occurred and the corrective action to follow. Depending on the severity of the infraction, the corrective action may include either deduction of points from a contestant’s score or suspension from the competition.
II. Special Notes for the Individual Exercises
These guidelines are for use by both judges and drivers. As such, you will see instructions for judges mixed in with instructions for drivers. In this way, all those involved in the competition will be aware of the same information.
There are four events in which Roadeo drivers will compete: Written Test, Driving Course, Pre-Trip Inspection and Wheelchair Securement.
**Keep in mind that the actual order of the exercises on the course may differ from the order in which they are presented in this Guide.
A. Written Test
The written test includes 25 questions valued at 5 points each. While 24 questions will be multiple choice, one of the questions will require a short answer. Questions for the test are taken from basic training materials used for transit driver training.
B. Pre-Trip Inspection
The instructions and judging for this exercise have recently been modified, so please read these instructions very carefully.
General Instructions
1. There will be a 7-minute time limit on this exercise.
2. Total possible points: 150
3. Four (4) safety defects will be pre-set on the vehicle. These will be the same for all contestants. Drivers will receive twenty-five (25) points for each safety defect found — up to a maximum of 4 defects.
We realize that every transit system may have different pre-trip inspection checklists. As a result, all participants will be sent a standard pre-trip form with their rodeo packet. Defects that have been planted should be familiar to everyone.
4. Contestants must conduct their pre-trip inspections in a logical and systematic manner (i.e., moving from front of the vehicle to the back, left to right, or top to bottom). Drivers will earn twenty-five (25) points for doing so.
5. Drivers will earn another twenty-five (25) points for completing the inspection within the 7-minute time limit.
6. Safety defects may be found anywhere on the vehicle, including under the hood. (The hood will remain unlatched for each driver to access.)
7. To keep the competition fair, do not discuss the defects that you found with other contestants until after the Roadeo is completed.
During the Inspection
Each contestant will conduct their inspection by verbalizing item or area of inspection and then checking it. As contestants identify defects, they will describe that defect to the judge. The judge will write the defects described by the contestant on the contestant’s Pre-Trip Inspection score sheet. Contestants may identify more than 4 defects although they will only get credit for a maximum of 4 defects. If a contestant has identified 4 or more defects and has not yet completed the full vehicle inspection, he/she must finish the inspection in order to earn twenty-five (25) points.
Upon request, judges can assist contestants with their inspections, though for specific tasks only. For instance, the judge may press the brake pedal, and shift the transmission into reverse with the ignition switch in the “on” position, but without the engine running. The judge can also assist the contestants in checking turn signals, brake and back-up lights, and turning on the lights.
Contestants are not required, or allowed, to:
1. Complete a full lift/engine interlock inspection or cycle the lift: Contestants are required to perform a visual inspection of the lift and its immediate surroundings.
2. Brake Inspection: Due to the time constraints of a Roadeo, the brake check will be limited to verifying that the service brake pedal is firm. Contestants will not be allowed to set the parking brake and attempt to move the vehicle.
3. Complete under hood examination: Contestants are required to verbalize all areas under the hood that they would (if there was allotted time) inspect and check.
The judge will read a script to each contestant addressing the rules of this obstacle before the contestant begins the pre-trip.
C. Wheelchair Securement
Since the point value of this exercise has been increased from 50 to 200 points, all the point values for the individual steps in passenger loading and securement have been increased by a factor of 4.
The seven(7) minute time limit will be enforced. The 7 minutes does not include the time spent by the judge testing the securement.
At the start of the Wheelchair Securement exercise, the contestant will meet a wheelchair passenger and judge. The contestant should approach the passenger as though the passenger were a person to be transported. The contestant must verbalize to the passenger all of the activities that he/she will perform in the process of loading and securing them in the vehicle. Contestants must say these activities loud enough for the judges to hear.
For example, the contestant must verbally ask the passenger if they have all of their belongings, not merely look around the area. The contestant must say that they are checking the handgrips on the wheelchair, and physically try to twist them. The contestant must say to the passenger that they are going to back them onto the lift. The contestant does not have to memorize a specific statement, but they must tell the passenger what they are going to do before they do it!
The passenger will be wearing a lap belt in the wheelchair. Before maneuvering the passenger on to the lift platform, the contestant must check the lap belt to verify that it is secure. The lifts should be equipped with rear safety plates. The contestant must physically check the rear safety plate to verify that it is engaged. Similarly, after the lift platform clears the ground, the contestant must physically check the front safety plate to verify that it is secure. Contestants will not be penalized for removing their hand from the wheelchair to check the front safety plate. For the purposes of this Roadeo, contestants will not be permitted to ride the lift platform.
After loading the passenger in the vehicle, the contestant must secure the wheelchair and passenger. After the contestant has positioned the wheelchair in the securement area, secured the front and rear straps, set the brakes and secured the lap belt/shoulder harness, the judge will release the brakes and attempt to roll the wheelchair and passenger forward and backward. If the wheelchair does not roll or slide in either direction, the contestant will receive 24 points. If the wheelchair rolls or slides by any amount, the contestant will receive zero (0) points for this portion of the exercise.
Judges must be consistent in evaluating this portion of the exercise!
At this point, you have completed the exercise.
The judge or wheelchair passenger will use a stop watch to record the elapsed time for this exercise, from the time that the contestant first greets them to the time that the contestant has completed securing the wheelchair. There will be a 7 minute time limit for the performance of this exercise. After 7 minutes, the exercise will be stopped and the contestant will be scored based on their performance to this point.
You will note on the score sheet that almost every item for this exercise indicates a point value for "verbal", and a point value for "performance". These are the points that the contestant receives for verbalizing what is being performed, and for the actual performance. If contestants do not verbalize what they are going to do before they do it, they do not receive the verbal point value. If they verbalize it, but they do not perform it, they do not receive the performance point value. Judges may want to circle point values on the score sheet as the contestants earns points, and total them at the end of the exercise.
The score sheet lists activities and their point values in a particular order. The items performed under "Sensitivity & Awareness" do not necessarily have to be performed in the exact order listed. However, the other activities do follow a logical order that must be followed. If contestants perform these activities out of order, they will not receive points for the activity that they skipped, or performed late. For example, if a contestant does not check the front safety plate until after he/she has backed the wheelchair into the vehicle, they would not receive 16 points for that item.
D. Driving Course
On the driving portion of the course, a judge’s responsibility extends from the completion of the previous exercise to the completion of the exercise they are judging. Judges must render objective evaluations of each contestant. Judges should note the location of the x’s enclosed in circles on the score sheets. These are the preferred locations for viewing the exercise, without interfering with the contestant’s ability to perform the exercise. Under no circumstances should judges cross in front of vehicles as they are being driven. It is dangerous and breaks the contestant’s concentration.
Once a cone or a curb is hit or touched by a vehicle, it is circled on the score sheet. Additional penalty points are not assessed for hitting the same cone or curb more than once. A cone is “hit” when any portion of the vehicle comes in contact with the cone or its base. This includes the tires, body and bumpers. A cone does not have to be knocked over to be “hit”. If a cone is being dragged, the judge must get the contestant’s and the on-board judge’s attention so that the vehicle can be stopped and the cone removed. The timekeeper should stop the clock under these circumstances, and restart it when the cone is cleared and the contestant continues on the course. If a dragged cone hits other cones before the vehicle is stopped, the judges must determine if the cone(s) that was (were) hit by the dragged cone would have been hit by the vehicle if the cone was not being dragged. Judges should use their best judgement, and be consistent.
Judges must reset the cones, or the curb, after they have been touched or hit. Do not reset the cones until after the vehicle clears the exercise. Place the cones or curb in the same place. Do not make any adjustments to the course by altering the placement of the cones! The key to a fair course is that the exercises are the same for all contestants.
It is permissible for a contestant to stop on the course. Penalty points will not be assessed for a stop, only for transmission shifts into reverse that are not required by the exercise. The clock will continue to run during a stop as long as the stop is not required by a judge.
Judges, be careful that you do not unintentionally give the contestants guidance through hand signals. You are not directing the contestants, you are scoring them. Keep your hand on the clipboard, or in your pockets!